Refrigerators typically sound an audible alarm when a door to either the freezer compartment or fresh food compartment remains open for a predetermined period of time. By sounding an alarm, a person may be prompted to close the door. In this manner, the refrigerator may avoid spoilage resulting from increased internal temperature of the freezer and fresh food compartments.
Door alarms may be helpful when a door to either compartment is inadvertently left open since sounding an alarm may bring attention to the undesirable and unintended condition of the refrigerator. However, as noted above, refrigerators sound an alarm after a predetermined period of time has past. By the time the refrigerator sounds the alarm, the person who opened the door may no longer be in the immediate vicinity. As such, the alarm may go unheard, and appropriate remedial action may not occur. Situations in which the alarm goes unanswered are more likely when the door fails to close due to an obstruction. In such situations, the person who opened the door is more likely to walk away from the refrigerator unaware that the door did not close properly.